Stupid yoga...why does it have to be do good for me?

I know I just did a whole blog on yoga and why I have a love-hate relationship with it, but I just found this article on Yahoo that adds more fuel to my love-hate relationship with it. As I was reading the article, Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, I was having many thoughts. Basically the article is about more benefits of yoga. The one they spend the most time on is related to food choice, temptation, and eating habits of people who do yoga. In simpler terms; people who do yoga make better food choices and resist temptations. I thought I would include excerpts from the article and my thoughts as I was reading.

“…calorie burning is not where the bulk of yoga's weight-loss power lies. An added benefit of yoga, even from gentle styles, is that it helps you get a handle on what your body needs to be healthy. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found a strong link between yoga practice and weight maintenance, and researchers attribute it to "mindful" eating. Down-dog devotees, they say, learn to stay calm in the face of discomfort, and this tendency spills over into other parts of their lives—for instance, making it easier to turn down not-so-good-for-you foods, no matter how tempting they are. The study found no such link between mindful eating and other types of physical activity, such as walking or running.”  I hate yoga. I really hate yoga, and now it’s supposed to tell me what I need? Damn. And hell yea, yoga causes me discomfort! If I keep doing this yoga crap in the morning I better start seeing the proof of this “mindful eating”.

“In studies on what causes obesity, researchers have found that overweight people tend to underestimate how much they eat while overestimating their activity. In one study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists tracked the diet and exercise habits of people who claimed they couldn't lose weight even though they cut calories. The upshot was that the volunteers had dramatically underreported their calories by 47 percent and overreported their activity by 51 percent. And their failed "diets" had nothing to do with sluggish metabolisms. When the researchers compared the participants' ability to burn calories with that of a control group, there was no difference.” Oh crap. That under reporting calories and over reporting exercise is so me. Those percentages are amazing! No wonder I was having such a hard time losing weight before the meal plan. I was eating way more than I was telling anyone and imagining way more working out than I was really doing!

“And their failed "diets" had nothing to do with sluggish metabolisms. When the researchers compared the participants' ability to burn calories with that of a control group, there was no difference.” No friggin’ way. I won’t believe it! People really do have metabolism problems, right? I mean, I really thought I did, but not until after I had to go through 6 months of chemo (that’s another whole blog in and of itself) so I asked my Oncologist if there was a possibility of the chemo messing with my metabolism. He didn’t even let me finish the question. It was an instant “no”. I still wasn’t convinced. What does that doctor know anyway? (Please note the sarcasm in that statement) I eventually had blood work done to test my theory and I was wrong. My metabolism and blood work were all normal; perfectly normal.

“And another study, in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, found that people who practiced yoga regularly for four years or more actually gained less weight over time than those who didn't do yoga.” Crap. Now I have to yoga forever.

So, this really was a good article. I suggest reading it. I’m always back and forth on yoga. I don’t really enjoy it, but like I’ve said in previous posts, I have found a few tapes that I like. I try to do them at least 4 times a week. I have noticed a difference in my energy level, especially if I do it first thing in the morning, and I know it’s helped me lose more inches. Last month I lost 6 inches. That’s a lot for one month. It’s the most I’ve lost in one month. I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the yoga because I started it in January. I’m hoping yoga will just grow on me, but if you ever catch me telling people to breath through their eyes, make their legs tree trunks, or turn my feet into block and stand evenly on the 4 corners; smack me and bring me back to reality.

I’ve linked the full article here and I’ve also linked it at the top of the page on the article title, incase you want to read it for yourself and see what kind of thoughts you have about it.